ARB uses accumulating waste as a valuable feedstock.
Waste —is transformed as part of ARB's triple bottom line approach to reversing environmental damage, growing prosperous local economies, and supporting the health and wellbeing of citizens.
Elemental Char™ results from thermally converting either organic or non-organic carbon-rich materials at high temperatures without combustion. Each Elemental Char™ is a renewed resource, which can be purposed for uses in a wide variety of applications.
Formulated Char™ results from the blending of Elemental Char™ with other ingredients to make products ranging from healh-related supplements to electronic components, from soil amendments to building materials, and thousands of other applications.
Biochar is the term commonly used to describe carbon-rich material that has been thermally transformed into a blackened, highly porous substance. Because the term has been misapplied to a variety of materials, ARB uses the terms Elemental Char™ and Formulated Char™ to distinguish its outputs. For example, although charcoal is made from woody biomass it is not Biochar. Other carbon-based substances that are often misnamed as Biochar include: carbon black, lamp black, gas black, fusain, and cinder.
ARB can derive Elemental Chars™ from both toxic and nontoxic feedstocks. The different chars have different applications. Organic high-carbon chars can be deployed for use biological usages, while inorganic and low-carbon chars can be used in carbon-sequestering applications such as building materials.
Chars typically resemble the waste feedstock from which they are made, but are always black. In addition, their chemical properties are fundamentally different from those of the waste streams from which they are made: Elemental Chars™ are sterile (not a biohazard), have no smell, and are stable (do not decay/decompose).
